Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1887-06-22
CROOKED FIGURES.
INVESTIGATION OF THE STATE
PRINTING OFFICE REQUIRED.
School Textbook Fund Strangely
Exhausted, Leaving Over $2O,-
900 to be Accounted For.

1
Office. The REcoRD-UNIoN has applied
itself for single day to inquiry into the
matter, and developed enough in that time
to warrant it in saying that Superintendent
Shoaff's system of administering the office
needs investigation.
Primarily starting out to ascertain why
the school textbook fund has reached its
last dregs and not produced the volumes it
should have done, the REooRD-UNIoN be-
lieyes that it has found that that fund has
I been trenched upon by the Superintendent
in order TO maintain the Office, Support
fund.-, which some time ago collapsed. As
the exact cost of the school books must
be known-that the textbook fund
shall be used for no other purpose, any
support of the Office for general purposes
upon its strength, is not only mismanage-
| ment, but transportation, and indicates
either willful disregard of duty or positive
incompetency on the part of Mr.. Shoaff.
The statement given below will be found
to disclose a looseneSs of method on the
| part of the Superintendent that amounts to
| Encouragement that scandalizes the print
| ing department, if not worse, and warrants
the suggestion that the Executive should
as he doubtless will-investigate the mat
| ter thoroughly, and lay bare every fact that
will elucidate the truth.
Soon after the adjournment of the last
Legislature there was noisy demand
made by the knights of Labor upon the
State Board of Education for the expend-
iture of the 500, 449 remaining as a balance
in the school textbook fund from last
year, and $500 appropriated in March,
1887, in all making about $37 ,000 This it
was claimed by the Knights of Labor and
the workingmen in the State Printing Of
fee, and especially by the bindery depart
ment, would lapse into the general fund at
the end of the fiscal year, July LIST, unless
previously used and they then demanded
to know why-as the State had to have the
books, and the men and women were then
on hand at the State Printing Office to make
them-why not make them then, instead
of at later date?
This presented very plausible argu-
ment for the public ear, and they fortified
it and made it more SO by endeavoring to
show that the State Board of Education,
land notably State Superintendent Hoitt),
was. an enemy of the school-book system,
and that the refusal to expend the money
at once was part of the scheme to break
down the new school-book enterprise.
In addition to this, they presented to the
people the statement, after alleged ac-
curate estimate made, that the textbook
money on hand would keep these men and
women employed in the State Printing Of
flee until July l, 1887, and by that time,
and with this fund which they demanded
should be so expended, without a mo-
ment's delay, 10000 more school books
would be manufactured In short-that
here were the funds waiting to be expend-
ed: here were the men and women waiting
to have it expended in their behalf, and
that here were the people of the State de-
handing that these 10000 additional
school books be made for them,
and that they should all be made
before July 1st, or the dear people
would get left, and then children would
be cheated out of having any books to study
when the school year, succeeding July 1st,
opened.
To fortify this impression, they claimed
that there were not readers and spoilers
enough on hand to meet the demands and
this claim was set up in the face of the
official certification of the State Board
Education, that it had ascertained the
number of books that would be needed :;
that the full number had been already pro-
vlded, and that 1000 surplus copies were
on hand.
AS another means of convincing the
public, mind that these false allega-
tons were true, they got up
and held a public meeting in San Fran
cisco, at which General Thomas ]. Clunie,
Democratic demagogue, and j. NJ. Days,
a Republican demagogue, and other smaller
fry of similar purpose, made infiammatory
speeches against the State Board, and al
legged, in the face of the official showings
that there were not books enough for the
public, and demanded that the text
book fund ON hand should be at once ex-
Tended as demanded by those who wished
to do the work.
To prove that the figures of the State
Board were incorrect, they gave the whole
| number of census children between five
and seventeen years of age, subtracted from
this the number of books printed, and,
holding up their hands, said: See the
deficiency, and what a big cat there
must be in the meal tub" They utterly
ignored the fact that upwards of % per
cent of the census children of the State
never attend any school; that It per cent
attend private schools, making upwards of
80 per cent; also still further than this,
that portion of those who do attend pub
lie schools do not use either reader or
speller.
These facts were clearly and distinctly
stated by the RECORD UNION, and given as
official from the State Board, prior to the
San Francisco meeting, and they were re-
peated in the San Francisco press. Not
withstandIDg this, the facts were ignored
aud crusade prosecuted. There is
every reason to believe, from subse-
quent developments, that these men
who, in the face of these facts
harangued the people, were not misled, but
were acting secretly in the interest of book
rings to bring the textbook system into
contempt. II not so, then the parties so
sctive in the matter were extremely ignor-
ant.
To make this still clearer, it must be re-
membered that about this time there was
issued an eight-page pamphlet, which was
printed in the State Printing Office, but
which bore no signature. 1t has. however,
been frequently quoted from since as Super
| intendent Shoaff statement and which
he has admitted to have pub
lished at public expense. The con
clusion of the pamphlet. after
much elaborate and false fig lring. was
Readers, 1900 Second Readers, 2O0OO
Third Readers, about 5000 Spoilers and
$4,000 Arithmetics.
This circular, which as above stated.
was acknowledged 10 be printed and put
forth by the State Printer, demanded that
the State Board should at once order
printed 5000 additional Readers and Spell.
ers, and also an edition of $1,000 Arithme-
tics. 1t was also stated, in circu-
lars, that there was ample money
on hand in the textbook fund with
which to print these additional supplies.
before July LIST, and that by ordering
the work done the cause of labor and the
interest of the people would be conserved
When the demands were being made
for the publication of the additional edi-
tons of readers and spoilers, the response
was made by the Board, in declining to &C.
cede to the cry, first, that full supply
was already on hand, but the strongest
reason given was that the arithmetic should
be put forward first, as it would be needed
by July, and that there would be time to
print the additional supply of readers and
spoilers after the arithmetic had been pub
lished.
| Let it be remembered that up to this
| time no arithmetic whatever for the State
series had been printed; that the new
school year would begin on the LIST of July,
and that arithmetics would be as much
needed as readers and spoilers. On the 18th
of March the State Board of Education or
dered $1,000 arithmetics printed, and this